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Fishman Fission Bass Powerchord FX

This is a seemingly complex bass pedal that, as the name suggests, enables the stacking of notes in a chordal fashion with the introduction of fourth and fifth interval notes produced from the root.

There's also the option to add the upper octave and, although it may sound complicated, it's easy and logical to operate so you can enjoy the effect without having to fathom out how to do it.

Chord building (harmony) from a single note has proved to be highly effective on both guitar and vocal systems, but just how useful it will become for bass is rather up to the imagination of the player. Solidly built and well presented, note tracking is fast and accurate and two jack sockets provide the option of sending a mixed signal of bass and effect or just the effected sound.

Sounds

There's a huge area of sound generated from this modestly proportioned unit and it's so different we feel that its potential has yet to be fully appreciated. While you can introduce a higher octave, there's no facility to bring out the lower one so this is definitely not an octavider in the regular sense.

Add in some overdrive and the sounds just get bigger - this is ideal to fill the gap in a power trio when the lead guitarist takes a solo. With noise gate, tone control and effect level, studio friendliness is guaranteed.

MusicRadar Rating

4.5 / 5 stars

Pros

Build quality; expansive chordal ability; unique sounds.

Cons

Won't do an octave below the root.

Verdict

A very useful tool indeed, and a new sound for the bass guitar. Add to that Fishman's renowned quality and this is one to check out.

Country of Origin

USA

Unit Power Source

9 Volt Batteries 9V DC Adaptor

Review Policy

All MusicRadar's reviews are by independent product specialists, who are not aligned to any gear manufacturer or retailer. Our experts also write for renowned magazines such as Guitarist, Total Guitar, Computer Music, Future Music and Rhythm. All are part of Future PLC, the biggest publisher of music making magazines in the world.